Alain Guillot

Life, Leadership, and Money Matters

Different Ways to Optimize the Cost of your Fleet

Different Ways to Optimize the Cost of your Fleet

Do you feel as though you are spending far too much on your fleet? If so, then it is important to understand all the ways that you can lower your transport costs, while making sure that you are not spending more than you should on completely preventable things.

Optimize your Fleet

Getting rid of drivers and also reducing the size of your fleet as a whole is a good way for you to cut down on costs. With that said, it can also have a huge impact on your business as a whole. If you want to stop this from being the case, then you need to make sure that you take the time to focus on continued growth. You can avoid adding other vehicles to meet increased demand a lot of the time by simply using software. If you use route optimization software, then it becomes possible to lower the amount of manual route planning you have to do. You will also find that you can eliminate the issue of some routes being imbalanced. This happens when you have some vehicles that arrive back at the depot far too early, and at the same time, you run into the issue of having some that are going over their allotted shift time. This can result in costly overtime, and it can also result in you having an issue with your fleet as a whole. If you want to stop this, then make sure that you are focused on your routes first, before you go on to make other changes later down the line.

When the time comes for you to automate your route planning process, you can then ensure that your business vehicles are utilized on the outbound. This is great if you are making a lot of deliveries. It also allows you to establish different collections at the same time, which is great for driver productivity. It also means you don’t have to worry about having third-party suppliers as much.

Cut Miles Traveled

Another thing you can do is try and cut down on the number of miles you are travelling. It is simple math at the end of the day, that if you do fewer miles, then you will result in less wear and tear on your car. If you can, you need to use multiple ways to solve the complex problems you are having. You also need to look into driver capabilities, and you also need to take into account customer opening times. A busy planner can’t consider factors like this when they are having to do everything by themselves. If you want to help yourself here, then make sure that you are focused on optimal delivery and that you are also taking the time to calculate the road speeds for the day.

Take Out the Right Insurance

Another thing you can do is try and take out the right level of insurance. A lot of the time, you may find that you end up paying way more than you should for things, and this is especially the case if you are on the road quite a lot. If you want to limit this, then take the time to limit the price you are paying overall. There are many providers out there who focus on company fleet cover made simple, so utilize their services if you can. When you do, you can rest assured knowing that everything is going to be done, and that you don’t have to worry about how you are going to insure everything when you have so much going on. This can be a great way for you to save, so be sure to keep that in mind.

Improve MPG

It’s very obvious, but at the end of the day, hard acceleration and late braking will cost you way more in fuel than you realize. If you use telematics, then this is a good way for you to find out which drivers are doing this, so you can make sure that you are not paying more than you should for things. It also means you can sustain the health of your vehicles better as well which will lead to even more cost savings down the line. If you want to help yourself, then at least make sure that you have a good software package to track your vehicles, while ensuring that it’s integrated with mileage trackers and staff schedules. If you can do this, then your life will certainly become a lot easier.